Unit 9.

5: Making Connections English as a Second Language 6 weeks Stage 1 - Desired Results Unit Summary
In this unit, students will learn to more effectively respond to literature by making connections to the text. A major focus of this unit will be to improve students ability to critically respond to literature, including an evolving proficiency in summarizing and expressing their opinions about literature, and working with the writing process. Transfer goal: Students will leave the class able to use their learning about making self to self, self to text and self to world connections with the literature they are reading to better appreciate and better understand what they read.

Content Standards and Learning Expectations

Listening/Speaking L/S.9.1 Listens and responds to a read aloud from a variety of fiction and nonfiction to analyze character development and setting, to determine tone, voice, and mood, and to make connections to the text. L/S.9.3 Uses appropriate language structures to problem solve, explain a process, and express opinions integrating comparison and contrast statements; analyzes presentations. L/S.9.4 Uses a variety of language patterns and structures to explain text, and discuss topics and themes; expresses thoughts and opinions to analyze plot, problem, and solution, make predictions and inferences, and draw conclusions from listening to a variety of texts and multimedia sources. Reading R.9.4 Organizes plot; establishes cause and effect relationships; makes connections, predictions, inferences, draws conclusions, and classifies conflicts in narrative, expository, and persuasive texts. Writing W.9.1 Uses transitional words, phrases, and clauses to connect ideas when constructing complex sentences. W.9.2 Distinguishes appropriate and incorrect grammar structure; applies a variety of syntactic styles to write. W.9.5 Uses basic editing marks and revising techniques; uses reference sources to verify information; writes a final draft using the writing process.

Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:

Literature both reflects and contributes to knowledge. Reading helps us make sense of the world. Prior knowledge and life experience shape how writers develop and present their ideas.

Essential Questions:
In what ways does literature contribute to our understanding of the world? How do the stories people tell give insight into who they are? How does this reading experience affect what I think?

June 2012

Unit 9.5: Making Connections English as a Second Language 6 weeks Content (Students will know)
A variety of appropriate language structures to improve comprehension A variety of language patterns and structures to make predictions Transitional words, phrases, and clauses to connect ideas when constructing complex sentences Basic editing marks and revising techniques Text-to-self connection Text-to-text connection Text-to-world connection

Skills (Students will be able to)

Make connections to the text. Make connections, predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and classify conflicts in expository texts. Distinguish appropriate and incorrect grammar structure. Apply a variety of syntactic styles to writing. Use reference sources to verify information. Write a final draft using the writing process.

Content Vocabulary

Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence Performance Tasks

You dont have to take my word for it! 1

Other Evidence
Reading log Students will continue reading books on their own and keeping a running record of the titles and pages read. Response Logs Students will complete a response log for sections of the book they read on their own at teacher-determined intervals (after a chapter, once per week, etc). This log is a place to think, ask questions, and share their ideas about the book. The teacher should continuously model the required format and what a quality entry looks like. Students should record these sections in their journals (or the teacher can make a hand-out with these sections). o Title/Author o Time spent reading o Impressions: o Personal connections: o Literary connections: o Wonderings (questions): o Any other thoughts: Observations during Thumbnail Sketches activity

Students should select a favorite book (any genre, any level childrens books or full novels!) and write a book commercial style book review. If a computer with internet access is available, show the students these clips from Reading Rainbow so that they can see the expressive book reviews done by other students. o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhW_ hAkvzxM&feature=related o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YykFJ YC288&feature=related (starts at about 24:20) If the technology is not available, simply explain that the students should write a book review that would convince someone else to read the book. Students should discuss the title, author, and main characters. They should give a brief plot summary and also discuss his or her favorite parts and why he or she thinks other people should read the book.
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Source: http://www.teacher2teacherhelp.com/reading-workshop/student-led-book-chats/

June 2012

Unit 9.5: Making Connections English as a Second Language 6 weeks

Students should present their book reviews orally to the class. Students should include a text-to-text, text-to- self, or text-to-world connection in their review. The teacher should provide the students with sentence starters as a scaffold for students who need them, such as the book reminds me of or the character is like me because etc. After each student presents, the other students should provide written feedback. For suggested sentence starters for positive and constructive feedback, see attachment 9.5 Performance Task Feedback. See attachment 9.5 Performance Task Book Chats for tips handout for students and assessment rubrics. Pre-writing for Making Connections Performance task Peer editing for Making Connections Performance task Constructed response quiz on vocabulary from the unit

Making Connections Students will write an essay about a connection they have made to a novel this year. They can choose a novel they have read on their own or one of the read-alouds that have been read in class. Practice first: Explain to students that you are going to practice the comprehension strategy of making connections to find ways that students can personally relate to a text. Ask students to think about the following questions in relation to Tuck Everlasting (if it was read aloud in 9.1) or another recent readaloud story. You may choose to write these on the board for students to see. Focusing on text-to-self connections: o What does this story remind you of? o Can you relate to the characters in the story? o Does anything in this story remind you of anything in your own life? Focusing on text-to-text connections: o What does this remind you of in another book you have read? o How is this text similar to other things you June 2012 3

Unit 9.5: Making Connections English as a Second Language 6 weeks

have read? How is this text different from other things you have read? Focusing on text-to-world connections: o What does this remind you of in the real world? o How are events in this story similar to things that happen in the real world? o How are events in this story different from things that happen in the real world? Model how readers often make connections to a story to help them better understand the text. Using the Think Aloud strategy, demonstrate how to make each type of connection from your personal connections with the book. Encourage students to begin the pre-writing stage of writing by listing their own connections to the text using the DoubleEntry Journal (a two column chart with the headings Idea from text and Reaction/Connection) and then expanding their connections with the Planning Web (see attachment: 9.5 Performance Task Planning Web). Students should draft their essay and then edit with a peer using proper editing marks. A final draft should be produced and assessed on attachment 9.5: Performance Task Making Connections Rubric. o

Stage 3 - Learning Plan Learning Activities

Summarizing Practice2 Read aloud a simple text (such as A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon or Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox). Give students an opportunity to generate a list of the main points in the text. Record the list on chart paper or overhead. Help students identify a main idea sentence and then a sequenced list of events. Record and reread the summary. To shrink-wrap, cross out unnecessary or repetitive details or sentences. Continue this process until the summary is as concise as possible. Discuss reasons for including or rejecting the sentences in the summary.

Source: A Practical Guide to Reciprocal Teaching by Shira Lubliner, Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, 2001.

June 2012

Unit 9.5: Making Connections English as a Second Language 6 weeks

After this has been modeled during whole group lessons, release responsibility to students by having them complete the activity with partners. Have each student write a summary and then pair students to shrink-wrap each others summaries. Thumbnail Sketch3 Students review the read-aloud for the unit and summarize the main points using five sentences or less. Then they team up with a partner or small group to compare summaries. They work together to come up with a group thumbnail sketch that encompasses the points that all group members deemed important, again using five sentences or less. Students should fold a blank piece of paper into 4, 6, or 8 sections. Instruct them to retell a story or article by drawing a main event or idea in each box and writing a sentence to accompany each picture. Share in small groups. Read the text you've selected aloud with students. Share a personal experience that helps you relate to the reading. Use the following prompts and questions to help students make connections for themselves: o Have you ever had a similar experience? How did you feel? What did you do? o How was your situation the same? Different? o Did you connect to any of the decisions the people you read about made? o What feelings did the reading raise? Why? o How is your family the same or different from the one you read about? o Did you learn anything about yourself by reading about what happened or what people did? (See Sample Lesson - Lesson Plan for Nonfiction Comprehension: Connect and Apply for more information and connections to other texts and to the world) Exchanging Ideas by Sharing Journals: Interactive Response in the Classroom: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/exchanging-ideas-sharingjournals-1054.html?tab=4#tabs Guided Comprehension: Making Connections Using a Double-Entry Journal: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/guided-comprehension-makingconnections-228.html Lesson Plan for Nonfiction Comprehension: Connect and Apply: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/lesson-plan-nonfiction-comprehension-connect-andapply

Comic Strip Summaries4

Make Personal Connections to Non-Fiction5

Sample Lessons

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Source: Revisit, Reflect, Retell by Linda Hoyt, Heinemann, 1999. Source: Guided Comprehension in Action: Lessons for Grades 3-8 by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, IRA, 2002. 5 Source: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/lesson-plan-nonfiction-comprehension-connect-and-apply

June 2012

Unit 9.5: Making Connections English as a Second Language 6 weeks Additional Resources
Pre-made rubrics for each type of writing: o http://www.greatsource.com/iwrite/educators/e_rubrics.html Links to stories: o http://www.americanliterature.com/Hughes/SS/ThankYouMam.html o http://www.sdcoe.net/score/soto/sototg.html o http://www.danamiddle.com/ourpages/auto/2007/10/29/1193696064902/Slower%20Than%20 The%20Rest.pdf http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/every-living-thing-0

Literature Connections
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George READ XL (Ninth grade) Textbook o Masquerade by Phyllis Fair Cowell page 36 (Short Story: Cause and Effect) o The Fish Story by Mary Lou Brooks page 38 (Short Story: Cause and Effect) o From Slam! by Walter Dean Myers page 64 (Novel: Analyze Character )

June 2012 Adapted from Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe